


Begin Again

by haircutnamedarthur



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Airports, College AU, Day 1: Begin Again, JeanMarco Week, JeanMarco Week 2015, M/M, Modern AU, Reunions, study abroad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 19:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4234275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haircutnamedarthur/pseuds/haircutnamedarthur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco has been away in Ireland on a study abroad trip for an entire year, and he and Jean decided to go on a break while he was gone.  As he waits for Marco to get off of the airplane, Jean worries that Marco won't want to begin their relationship again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're all just as excited for Jean Marco Week as I am! I'm really looking forward to writing about these two for the rest of the week! Of the two prompts, I decided to go with "Begin Again." If you want to participate in Jean Marco Week, too, here's the link to the Tumblr post about it: http://imagine-jeanmarco.tumblr.com/post/122755019563/imagine-jeanmarco-jeanmarco-week-hey
> 
> Enjoy~

Jean shuffled his feet and adjusted the starchy collar of his shirt for what felt like the nine thousandth time.  No matter what he did, it felt too tight around his neck.  Why on earth had he thought that wearing a dress shirt and tie was a good idea?  He _never_ got dressed up unless he had to.  Even though today was a special occasion, he was regretting his decision.  His usual get up, a band t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, was much more to his taste.

The bouquet of roses felt heavy in Jean’s hands.  Smiling strangers in the airport terminal idly wondering who he was waiting for filled him with anxiety.  Tawny eyes trained on the gate, Jean did his best to relax.  It would have been a relief to put in his earbuds and crank up his music, but he wanted to make sure that he heard any announcements about when the passengers would _finally_ be allowed to get off the plane. 

Waiting would have been a whole hell of a lot easier if he just knew where he and Marco stood.  A year was a long time, and they _had_ decided to take a break while Marco was studying abroad in Ireland.  Neither of them had wanted the strain of a long distance relationship.  Actually, Jean wouldn’t have minded.  He would gladly have waited for Marco forever if need be.  Despite that, Jean had been the one to suggest the break.  He didn’t want Marco to feel tied down, but he had hoped that his boyfriend wouldn’t take him up on the offer. 

Being on a break had _hurt._ Every Skype call that didn’t end with Marco’s usual “I love you, Jean” was painful.  The absence of cheesy heart or kiss emoticons in every goodnight text ached.  Rooming in a noisy triple with Eren and Armin had been a trial, especially compared to the two easy going years Jean had spent with Marco as his dorm mate.  It made Jean wonder why the hell he had ever thought suggesting a break was a good idea, but then he remembered that he was doing it for Marco.  Marco deserved a fun time on the study abroad trip that he had scrimped and saved for since freshman year when the two of them had first met.  Jean remembered his enthusiastic new roommate coming back from the New Student Club and Activities Fair excitedly waving a brochure about studying abroad in Ireland.  Marco had wanted this forever.  He didn’t need to be tied down by a boyfriend all the way across the Atlantic.

A million things could have happened in Ireland.  Marco could have met some cute, amazing guy who had swept him off his feet and made him forget Jean entirely.  Maybe this mystery Irishman was outgoing and confident in a way that Jean never was.  Perhaps he liked to do spontaneous things like karaoke duets or going dancing, all the things that Marco liked but Jean didn’t.  Jean wouldn’t blame Marco if he had found someone like that, someone upbeat and interesting, without the sarcastic streak that Jean had. 

Jean had only gone on one date while Marco was away.  He’d finally, after years of failed attempts, managed to get Mikasa to go out for drinks.  Before he’d met Marco, Jean had always had a helluva crush on her, but she’d never reciprocated.  Since they first met in middle school, he’d been drawn to her beautiful raven colored hair and her pretty face, and once he’d gotten to know her a bit better, her confidence and strong personality.  The date itself had been underwhelming though, certainly not worth two and half weeks of petty jabs and glares from Eren.  Years of expectations probably would have been enough to ruin any evening.  Jean was nervous and awkward the whole night, and Mikasa seemed bored with his bland small talk and lame attempts at jokes.  Of course, he still thought Mikasa was beautiful, and he still _did_ have a tiny bit of a crush on her, but they hadn’t clicked.  Not even a little.

He missed Marco. 

As the first passengers trailed through the gate, feet dragging after their long flight, colorful carry-on bags in tow, Jean blanched, running a hand through his sandy hair.  Maybe the roses had been a bad call.  What if Marco didn’t want to start over with Jean and go out with him again?  What if he wanted to be “just friends?”  “Just friends” probably didn’t bring each other roses, let alone a dozen of them.  Jean wondered if he had time to sprint to a waste bin and throw them away before Marco got off the plane.  Tossing a dozen roses from the nicest florist in the city seemed like a shame, but Jean didn’t want to look foolish.  They should have talked about what their relationship was going to look like when Marco returned from his year abroad before today, but Jean had always been too scared to ask.

Just as he was about to dash off in search of somewhere to ditch the tissue wrapped bouquet, a familiar figure emerged from the gate, stretching his long arms towards the ceiling as he tried to pop his back after sitting still for too long, a habit that always driven Jean crazy.  He adjusted straps of his beat-up red backpack, the one that Jean could never convince him to replace.  Thick brown hair messy after his long flight, Marco looked around the terminal, squinting just a bit like he always did when he was focused.  Even from a distance, Jean could see the freckles that dappled his cheeks and the bridge of his nose like constellations.  Jean’s heart hammered in his chest.

Marco’s eyes lit up when he saw Jean, and his face split into a wide grin, showing off his white teeth.  The bouquet dangled limply from Jean’s hand as Marco ran towards him.  Before Jean could say a word, Marco reached him and flung his gangly arms around Jean’s narrow ribcage.  Jean froze.

“Ugh, I missed you _so_ much Jean!  Jean?”  Marco noticed that Jean wasn’t returning the hug, and he stepped back slightly, hands still gripped around the tops of Jean’s arms.  “Is everything alright?”  Marco’s brow creased with worry.

“I-” Jean started, trying to figure out a way to articulate the thoughts that had been spinning in his head like a teacup carnival ride for the past week.  “I…”

“Take your time, Jean.  I’m listening.”  Marco cracked a smile again, but it didn’t reach his eyes.  They were bright with apprehension.

“I just… I just want to know…  I want to know what we’re, uh, _doing_.”  Jean fumbled over his words as Marco’s thumbs rubbed circles on his arms through the crinkly fabric of his dress shirt.  Marco cocked an eyebrow as he tried to figure out what exactly Jean was asking.

“What we’re doing?”  Marco’s nose squinched up as he considered Jean’s words.  Realization crossed his face in a flash.  “Oh.  _Oh._ You mean about dating?” 

Jean nodded miserably, sure that Marco was about to confess to being madly in love with some beautiful red-headed Irish boy who had wooed him successfully during his study abroad trip.

“We were just on a break weren’t we?”  Marco abruptly looked hurt.  His voice was unsure and halting when he spoke again.  “Did you not _want_ to be dating anymore, Jean?”

“No, no, I _do_ want to be dating again.  I just didn’t think you would want to...”  Jean trailed off and loosened his tie.  For some reason, that tie had always been Marco’s favorite one that Jean owned.  It had some weird goldfish pattern on it, and Jean had tried to give it to Marco about fifty times since he liked it so much, but the brunet would always say that he liked it better on Jean.

“Why wouldn’t I want to?  You were the one who wanted the break while I was gone, Jean.  To be perfectly honest with you, I didn’t really want one, but I didn’t want to look clingy.  I thought you were asking for one for a reason.”  Marco bit his lip.  _That’s Marco for you,_ Jean thought, marveling at his honesty.  It would have taken Jean about an hour to get the nerve up to confess something like that.

“ _I_ didn’t want a break either!”  Jean said, louder than he’d intended.  A woman walking by with a Chihuahua in a pink carry case jumped in surprise.

“Then why did you…?”  Marco looked quizzical.

“I thought _you’d_ want one.  I figured you were just being too nice to suggest it.  I mean you were going on this great adventure and I didn’t want to hold you back.”

“Don’t be silly.  Jean, you could _never_ hold me back.  I missed you like crazy the whole time I was away.”  Marco said gently, lips curling up into a smile, a real one this time.  “So what do you say, Jean, do you want to begin again?”

“Of course I do, Freckles!”  Jean barely had time to finish his sentence before Marco looped an arm around his waist and pulled him in close for a kiss.  The bouquet of roses fell to the carpeted floor beside them, forgotten entirely in the midst of their reunion.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you enjoyed reading this!  
> Please be sure to let me know what you think either in the comments here or on my Tumblr. I love feedback, and I'm totally cool with constructive criticism. If there's something you think I could be doing better, don't be afraid to let me know so I can work on it!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at http://haircut-named-arthur.tumblr.com/ If you'd like, come and say "hi!" 
> 
> See you all again tomorrow for day 2! <3


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